Bench Grinders as Buffers

Living The Dream said:
:pbecause with the buffer in front of me with the wheel turning towards me I present the blade edge first in the third quadrant from the outside of the wheel which would be right at 7-7:30 on the clock! ————————my

thinking bout that????...........

would that be backside from where you are standing ?
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i am referring to, from standing with the buffer in front of me, if I was to step to my right and turn to look at the buffing wheel as a clock face, with 12-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11.. 7-7:30 would be in the 3rd quadrant or just plain 7-7:30 o’clock... does that help?
 
With the wheel turning toward you, the top of the wheel is 12:00, the center of the side facing you is 3:00, and the bottom is 6:00. Thus, 3:00 to 5:00 would be the front lower quadrant.
With the wheel turning toward you, that is the area that you can control the blade. Above the centerline, it will grab and push the blade towards you. Once you get to the bottom (5:00) the wheel is pulling the blade from your hands and moving it under the wheel. once it reaches 6:00, if you don't release the blade fast enough, it will whip around the buff and either be propelled toward you or come around and strike your hands from the top.
 
LOL, it appears We are talking about the same area, lower or second Quadrant 5:00 Stacey, 7:00 in the 3rd quadrant to me! We just have different ways of getting there!;)
 
Living The Dream said:
Good idea. It will slow down the process, but a durn 100 dollar knife ain't worth losing your life over.

anybody have a line on a true variable speed bench buffer? perhaps one with a VFD on it.
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Or even if it’s single speed, are there slower speed buffers available that would be appropriate especially if only wanted for handle materials? It seems everything I’ve seen is the 1725 or 3450 speed.
 
Yes, we are talking the same area, but you are probably looking at a wheel mounted to the right side of the motor. You need to look at the other side of the wheel.

Since the wheel spins clockwise, you have to describe it as if you were looking at the buff as if it was the clock face, with the rotation going 1-2-3-4, etc.
 
There are variable speed bench grinders available. They go slower than 1725 RPM.
 
For all of you who are afraid of buffing wheels-felt wheels work very well for polishing, and don't have as much tendency to grab work.
 
Loose sewn wheels are more grabby than spiral sewn or felt wheels.

Let the buffer do the work. Trying to push the piece THROUGH the wheel won't help anything.

Sharpen your blade LAST. If, like me, you buff your final edge, do it lightly, and AFTER you've buffed your flats, handle, fittings, etc....

And I'm sure this should go without saying, but if your buffer(s) mount to a work bench, keep it CLEAN! Nothing like having junk on the bench vibrate over to a spinning buff to get thrown who knows where while you're concentrating on buffing a knife or some other piece. A pedestal mount is obviously preferable, but obviously many of us bench mount.

I've seen a lot of guys with various contrived guards, shrouds, stops, etc... I can't personally speak to their effectiveness or lack thereof, but I can say that a buff is not 100% predictable. A shroud or guard may actually be counter-effective.

A piece of anti-fatigue mat, horse stall mat, or even plywood on the floor below the buffer may be a good idea to dampen any bounce back on a flying piece.
 
I have had four buffers in my humble garage/shop and I now have a 1725 Rpm 8 inch buffer that is very wide. I stand with my feet well back from the buffer and wear a leather apron ( that will probably will do no good) and I wear eye protection. The best thing that I do in my estimation is to approach the buffer with the idea that it wants to hurt me and I position myself to thwart that. It is the loose buff that is the greatest danger so make sure that you have a good grip and lightly apply your work to the buffer. I believe that some things cannot be made safe but if you approach the buffer with the right attitude and caution you will minimize the danger. Some of you will think that I'm an idiot and some will be right but that is my opinion on this subject. Larry


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Yeah I was just gonna ask about some sort of shield or something that would help... I don't buff very much, so I just use a vs bench grinder but this has worked well so far for me.

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I would suggest removing that work rest, if you are going to polish with that machine
Here is my solution for buffing guards. They are free, and they won't cut your hands off if something gets stuck in them. USPS flat rate boxes work very well.IMG_1694.JPG
 
Bill DeShivs said:
For all of you who are afraid of buffing wheels-felt wheels work very well for polishing, and don't have as much tendency to grab work.
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Also I’ve met makers that have a piece of Shag carpet glued to a 9” or 12” Disc sander and use that to buff. They say they’ve never had it grab the knife or handle..
 
Bill DeShivs said:
I would suggest removing that work rest, if you are going to polish with that machine
Here is my solution for buffing guards. They are free, and they won't cut your hands off if something gets stuck in them. USPS flat rate boxes work very well.View attachment 878116
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I have my buffer mounted on a workbench like this,but the whole buffer is mounted in the front edge of a box like that. I HOPE, a snagged blade thrown forward (away from me) will go through the cardboard but be slowed down significantly before it hits the wall behind the box.
 
The box is also a dust catcher for the vacuum system. It's hard to see the port in the bottom rear.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
It has been mentioned lately about using bench grinders to buff with. I was answering an email from a new maker and gave him this advice. I thought it probably is time to bring this subject up again.

The basic facts of life:
I know people are going to want to buff knives.
I know they will do it even if people tell them it is dangerous.
I know they think they know how to do it.
I know someone will chime in and say, " I buffed all my life and never hurt myself."

What a user may not know:
Buffers can be VERY dangerous.
They can maim you in 1/10 of a second.
Buffer injuries are common. I pretty much feel that anyone who says he never had a buffer incident is not being honest. That is about the same as a blacksmith saying he never burned his fingers.

Here is some advice that I gave in the email:
Buffing a knife is a very different from having used a bench grinder.
Be careful, keep a good grip, and NEVER place the blade anywhere but 3:00 to 5:00 position .... edge down.
Also, don't buff too hard or you can ruin the edge temper.
Also, a bench grinder with a buffing wheel is not the right tool. You need a long arm buffer that has plenty of clearance from the motor. About the only thing tat can be called good is they are usually low power and don't grab as hard as a 1HP unit. The wheel being too close to the motor makes you angle the knife, which will easily lead to snagging or burning the edge.
My buffers are about 28" end to end, and turn 12" buffs. They turn at around 1800RPM. Using a smaller buff will slow down the SFM, but not the RPM. Many of those 6" bench grinders turn at 3450RPM. So with a 6" wheel, they are running the same SFM as mine.
The smaller the wheel, the smaller the safe buffing zone. This means that you have a much smaller place to safely place your blade.

Some Basic Rules:
You must have total concentration.
Turn off the music/headset.
Get everyone else out of the shop. Pets, too.
Tell folks you are buffing and not to disturb you.
Don't buff when you are tired, have been drinking, are mad, or are feeling poorly.
Turn off your phone ringer, but keep the phone close by. It doesn't hurt to pre-dial 911.

I'll leave it to the rest of the chaps here to post their thoughts and experiences.
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Thanks for posting this. I picked up a big Baldor and after I turned it on to test it, I thought it was very intense. Thanks for confirming that my trepidation was not misgiven.
 
I never used this tool so please don t laughing to much :D What if you use some setup like this for polishing blade ........... ? Some wood board and knife bolted on pins hole ?
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Your sketch won't work quite right, as the buff will be hitting the wood too much. The idea is sound, however.

My friend makes a wooden holder for every knife. He cuts it out to the shape of the knife and puts bolts with wing nuts through the tang holes. He grinds with the blade on it, which trims the wood along the edge to an exact fit, and buffs the blade with it when HT is done. He keeps the "mandrels" in a bucket, and when he wants to make another knife of that shape and size, re-uses the wooden piece as a template for cutting out the blade and for grinding the profile.
 
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